Soundtracking with Edith Bowman

He's back! Having joined us to reflect upon his career to date in Episode 34, Edgar Wright returns to concentrate on his latest project Baby Driver, which has received widespread critical acclaim as it wows cinema-goers around the world. The film tells the story of young getaway driver Baby, who uses music to calm his nerves in the face of chronic tinnitus. As such, he's listening to his iPod throughout much of the narrative. It's an audacious premise which - while posing technical challenges - also gave Edgar the opportunity to share a wealth of sonic gems from his record collection. With 35 tunes in Baby Driver, there's certainly plenty to discuss - from the specific Jon Spencer track that inspired the movie 20 years ago to the structural delights of Barry White, Queen and Focus. It also features a personal favourite of Edith's, which seemed as good a place as any to start the conversation ...

One of the surprise cinematic hits of 2016 was the heart-wrenching coming-of-age drama Moonlight, which of course won Best Picture at this year's Oscars in unforgettable circumstances.Written and directed by Barry Jenkins, Moonlight presents 3 stages in the life of the main character Chiron as he struggles to deal with his sexuality and challenging social circumstances. It was beautifully scored by Nicholas Britell, who we're delighted to say is Edith's latest guest on Soundtracking - a weekly podcast about screen music.On the face of it, Nicholas's compositions follow orchestral conventions. Scratch beneath the surface, however, and one discovers all sorts of sonic tricks - including a technique borrowed from hip-hop called Chopped & Screwed, in which the original piece of music is slowed down, bent and overlaid to create something that sounds altogether different. Plenty, then, for Edith and Nicholas to discuss ...

There have been many great documentary makers over the years, but of those at work today one of the undoubted bosses is Nick Broomfield. Often controversial, always challenging, Nick has covered myriad subjects - from serial killer Aileen Wuornos and Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss to Afrikaner nationalist Eugene Terre Blanche. He's perhaps best known for Kurt & Courtney, an incendiary investigation into the events surrounding Cobain's death - which Love was none too happy about. We do, of course, hear plenty more about that during the conversation. Now normally, we play relevant musical extracts throughout the entirety of the conversation, but given the nature of Nick's work, it's a more conventional interview on this occasion. But there's still plenty of music to discuss - not least because his latest project Whitney: Can I Be Me is all about Whitney Houston, who was found dead in a hotel room in 2012. Made in collaboration with filmmaker Rudi Dolezal, Can I Be Me is scored by Nick Laird-Clowse (pron: Close), so it's his cues you hear we discuss Nick's thoughts on the troubled superstar.

Edith's latest guest is an unassuming delight - still early in her career but surely destined for great things (of which she's already achieved a fair few). Alice Lowe is actor, writer and now director, who has appeared in a host of critically acclaimed TV shows and films - including Ben Wheatley's Sightseers, which she co-wrote.Her mainstream directorial debut Prevenge is a black comedy about a pregnant woman who believes she is receiving murderous instruction from her unborn child. Alice enlisted electronic duo Toydrum to compose the score for the movie - with the pair delivering a suitably unsettling suite that reflects protagonist Ruth's psychopathic urges.We also hear about her love of Delia Derbyshire, David Lynch and the one and only Nik Kershaw.

One hardly needs an excuse to discuss the work of Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, but it's always good to have one anyway. Australian director David Michod has employed the services of the ever-reliable duo for his latest project War Machine, which is exclusively available to watch on Netflix. It is a staggering score, of which you can hear plenty during Edith's conversation with David. They also discuss Antony Partos's contributions to Animal Kingdom and The Rover, which are equally magnificent.

Whatever you think about the Guy Ritchie canon, it's hard to dispute his flair for combining the visual with the sonic. From Lock, Stock ... and Snatch to Sherlock Holmes and The Man From UNCLE, the musical elements of his films often drive the narrative - through his ingenious use of needle-drops and bold score. Indeed, when it comes to the latter, he's collaborated with the great Hans Zimmer on more than one occasion, of which more during the conversation.His latest movie is King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword. Scored by Daniel Pemberton - who worked on The Man From UNCLE too - it also features British artist Sam Lee. As we'll hear, both rose to Guy's challenge of using the timeless tropes of folk music to create something at once medieval and modern.Guy is on typically mischievous form & we very much hope you enjoy the banter!

Over the course of the last twenty odd years, British director John Madden has brought us a string of critically acclaimed films which, pleasingly, have tended to do rather well at the box office too. Indeed, Shakespeare in Love not only landed seven Oscars, but also returned a tidy proft of over $250 million. And as we'll discover, it's John's view that you can't make a good movie without considerable help from a good composer.In the case of John, score dominates - since the kind of films he's made haven't generally required needle drops. So it is you'll hear extracts of Thomas Newman's score for the Best Exotic Maigold Hotel movies, Stephen Warbeck's work on Mrs Brown and Shakespeare In Love, and Max Richter's haunting suite for his latest film, the political thriller Miss Sloane ...

Though we've been lucky enough to speak to a fair few superstars in our relatively short run here on Soundtracking, this might just be the first time we've welcomed a genuine grandee to the programme.Michael Apted is a writer, producer and actor who's been involved in film and television for well over 50 years. His credits include everything from British soap opera Coronation Street and the revolutionary documentary series Up to critically acclaimed movies such as Gorillas In The Mist and Enigma. He's also had the honour of directing a Bond film, which is no bad thing to have on one's CV. In recognition to his contribution to cinema, he was elected President of the Directors Guild Of America in 2003.Michael's latest offering is Unlocked, a supremely entertaining thriller starring Noomi Rapace, Orlando Bloom, Toni Collette, Michael Douglas and John Malkovich. That, I think we can all agree, is some cast. And what with it being a genre piece, it provided the perfect opportunity to explore the particular demands he deemed fit to make of composer Stephen Barton for the score ...

If anyone knows how to use music to maximum effect on screen it's James Gunn. For James is the man behind both Guardians Of The Galaxy volumes, which are as celebrated for their hugely successful Awesome Mixes as his sharp, fun and witty interpretation of the Marvel franchise.In the movies, Star Lord Peter Quill listens to mixtapes given to him by his mother, which are laden with music from 1970's Earth. The songs often play during the action on screen, providing energy and drive to the narrative. As well as the joyous array of source cues, there's Tyler Bates' score, which you'll hear extracts from throughout the course of the conversation. Unfortunately, we weren't afforded as long with James as we'd have liked, so there was barely time to deal with all the tunes in the Guardians films, let alone anything else. But he's tremendous value and we still managed to cover plenty of ground. We also play loads of the Awesome Mixes, including tracks by the likes of Redbone, The Runaways, Raspberries and Blue Swede ...

Edith's guest this week requires very little introduction. An actor, writer, director and producer, he appeared in his first film in 1961 and has subsequently been nominated for no fewer than 14 Oscars, winning best director for Reds in 1981. We are,of course, talking about the legend that is Warren Beatty. Throughout his career, Warren has demonstrated a passion for source cues in particular - from the bubble-gum pop of Shampoo to the rap that provides the unlikely sonic inspiration for Bulworth. He's also worked with world-renowned composers Stephen Sondheim, Ennio Morricone and Danny Elfman. Still going strong at 80, his latest project is Rules Don't Apply - which he wrote, directed and also stars in as real-life business tycoon Howard Hughes. Among the cast is Lily Collins, who as aspiring actress Marla Mabrey performs a specially commissioned song during the narrative. We'll hear a bit of that, but this particular episode begins, as it ends, with the piano maestro that is Errol Garner ..